Ah, my dear fellow—pray, permit me the honour of elucidating so exceedingly subtle a notion as sarcasm for one whose intellectual faculties appear, if I may venture the observation with the utmost courtesy, somewhat… under-exercised. Sarcasm, you see, is that most refined art whereby a gentleman (or, indeed, a lady) utters words whose literal sense is the precise contrary of their intended meaning—delivered, of course, with an air of the most perfect sincerity. It is employed, one gathers, when addressing persons of… shall we say… limited perspicacity, so that the speaker may convey mild exasperation without descending to vulgar plain-speaking. Thus, when I declare that your request for an explanation of sarcasm was “a stroke of pure genius,” you may rest assured I mean nothing of the sort. I trust this luminous clarification has proved most illuminating to a mind of such… singular capacity.
